A Promise
by disneyqueen
Summary: A one-short of what the Enchantress could have been thinking as she went to castle that fateful Christmas Eve night.


**Here is my next little One-Short. The enchantress herself belongs to Disney, but everything else comes from my imagination on what her thoughts might have been on her way to the castle before placing the curse on the prince. I hope you like it.**

The cold, winter wind sliced through the thin layers of rags she wore. Her skin prickled as she moved silently through the woods; only the falling snow was disturbed in their path to the ground as they fall upon her. She blinked as she stared up at the sky, the familiar spirals of the castle rising high above the treetops. A small, sad smile spread across her face as she recalled the old king. His reign had been glorious and bountiful, ruling with a fair, but strong hand and a gentle heart.

_It had only been four hours when the king had summoned her to him, sending all his attendants away. No one, not even his beloved queen, had known that she was summoned in times of trouble to advise him. Her vision of the future had warned her of the illness. Yet, she felt her heart grow heavy as she appeared in the dimly lit bed chamber with only his shallow breathing to break the dense silence. Carefully, she moved over to the bed, her shoes clicking against the floor, announcing her presence. Candlelight cast his pale face in shadow with only an hour left to live. She knelt beside his bedside out of respect for him. "I am here, your Majesty." _

_His weary eyes roamed around the darkened room until they found her face. He blinked as though trying to clear his vision before a small smile crept upon his lips. "You came." His voice was faint. _

"_At your request."_

_He attempted to nod, but even that seemed to drain his energy. Instead, he spoke with his eyes as he gazed at her to express his gratitude. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I….have a favor….to ask….my son…."_

_She blinked, confused. She had seen the child only twice and each time it had been from a distance. Had something happened to him? Could just be a worried father's concern for having to leave his son at such a young age? Or something worse?_

_As though reading her mind, he continued, "I….fear….I have….failed my son….." He reached over, grasping her hand with surprising force. "Please…..watch over him….if he drifts away from….from….a good path…." He looked at her. "If….you need to….teach…" _

_She nodded silently, understanding the task he asked of her. _

"_Promise me."_

_She could only nod. A small smile of relief spread across his pale face as he closed his eyes. Quietly, she stood and left the room without a word. _

Over the years, she had kept a watchful eye on the young prince, her heart aching as he turned from the path his father had lead out for him. Now she had to keep that promise. She moved quickly through the silent forest, each step bringing her closer and closer to her destination. Her promise to her old friend kept running through her mind, giving her the strength to keep going. If his son had completely strayed off the path, he was a danger not only to himself, but his subjects as well. For a moment, she paused and glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the small towns where his subjects dwelled, her fingers gently clutching the steam of a flower hidden from the chill. If he failed her test, she had set up some provisions for them.

She sighed. _I hope it will not come to that_.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and resumed her journey until she had reached the front doors of the castle. She glanced back at the guards who had not seen her enter the courtyard and chuckled to herself. Mortals were so blind sometimes. Turning back to the large doors, she placed a hand upon her throat, changing the tone to that if an old crone. She raised her hand and knocked on the door. "Hello….is anyone there?"

No one answered her call. As she raised her hand to knock again, the doors where thrown open. She blinked at the sudden burst of light from within the hallway. Only a large, handsome figure standing in the threshold blocked the full effect of the light. She raised her gaze and beheld the young prince up close for the first time. He had his father's build even the same hair color. Yet, his blue eyes held none of the same warmth and compassion. She felt her new body shake though from the cold or the prince's icy gaze she could not tell.

The young prince stared down at her, a scowl upon his face as though her mere presence or existence irritated him. Perhaps he was only cross because she had interrupted his Christmas Eve celebration and nothing more. There was only one way to find out. Carefully, she withdrew the flower, an enchanted rose protected from the cold by her own powers, and held it out to him. "Would you offer some shelter from the bitter cold for a poor woman? I have this rose as payment."

**Well there it is. I this not change the overall story, but as I have said before there are not a lot of stories which feature the Enchantress or her side of things so this was just a nod to her and a possible reason why she decided to place the curse in the fuirst place. I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Now I was watching the film as I was finishing this story and I got two new ideas for stories if anyone wants to try them out. The first is what if Belle had gone with Cogsworth and Lumiere when they had mentioned the libabry instead of going to the West Wing, how would that have affected the story? **

**And the second one (this I might try later) if Belle had been there for Christmas, how do you think it would have played out (I mean had the filmmakers put it in the orginal movie and not the squeal) **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one-short. Please review and let me know what you think.**


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